


there's something bright and burning in you

by whittler_of_words



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, MSPARP, Off-Screen Non-Consensual Drug Use, this first ship shit will rot your teeth out yo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-02
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2018-01-10 22:32:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1165362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whittler_of_words/pseuds/whittler_of_words
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Signless has had enough of bustling, crowded cities for the moment, tired of the itching paranoia that crawls under his skin when he's near other trolls. That's why he stays behind when they approach the closest city. He waits where it's quiet until his family has had their fill of the noise.</p><p>Although, maybe... Has it really been so long since they left? Maybe he should go look for them. But no, he's just being paranoid again.</p><p>The Signless learns that it's not being paranoid if they're really out to get you. So does the Disciple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	there's something bright and burning in you

The Signless is waiting, alone, when he hears the footsteps. 

He can tell immediately that something is wrong, from the sound of it; an uneven shuffle of feet dragging over rock. When he turns to the source of it, hand already on the grip of his sickle where it lay under his cloak, he doesn’t understand what he’s seeing at first.

“Disciple?”

She sways dangerously as she walks, a far cry from her usual graceful stride, half bent over herself, and for a moment all he can do is stare uncomprehendingly. She stumbles forward, tipping far past the point of being able to regain her balance, and the Signless lunges forward to catch her before she can hit the ground. “Disciple!”

“Signless?” He can see her trying to focus, eyes squinting, and he brushes the hair out of her face.

“Disciple, what happened?” There are no wounds on her that he can see, no telltale splashes of olive blood staining her dress. That only serves to make him more nervous, because it means that whatever is wrong with her, he might not be able to fix. 

“I don’t - I don’t know.” She cradles her head in her hands. “These- these people... they put something over my mouth, and I felt funny.” She sways again, supported by his arms as she is.

“Here, lie down.” She doesn’t protest as he helps her down to the ground, almost folding in on herself. He strokes her sweating forehead, her skin warm to the touch, and his worry increases. Everyone feels slightly cool to him, off-spectrum warmblood that he is, and the fact that she feels warm to him at all is... not a good sign in the slightest. “My head hurts,” she mewls, a small, weak sound.

“Shh, it’s okay.” He glances around compulsively, still stroking her forehead. “Could you drink some water for me? Can you do that?”

“I- I can try.” She doesn’t sound certain, but it’ll have to do. He reaches for the water skin where it’s tied to his side, forcing his hands to work even and slow as he unties the knot. Calm down, Signless. Panicking will do no good here.

“It’ll be alright, love, I promise.” He guides her shaking hand as she brings the skin up to her mouth, but water still escapes and streams down her chin. She coughs weakly a couple times as he pulls it away. “What’s wrong with me?” she asks, fear and desperation threaded through her voice.

“I don’t know,” he answers truthfully, pushing away the flash of frustration at his own helplessness. “Hopefully- maybe ‘Rosa can help. We’ll just wait for her to return, alright?” He doesn’t like it, the idea of having to sit and wait while the Disciple is in pain, but the Dolorosa had gone into the nearest city to trade for things they need and God knows when she’ll be back. Waiting here for her is the only thing he can think of.

Disciple blinks slowly and nods. “They wanted something,” she says carefully, as if the words are only half-remembered as she says them. “I don’t know what they wanted...” But what could they have wanted from her, a lowblood carrying nothing? He’s about to ask her to try to remember when he remembers something himself, suddenly, and looks up from the Disciple to glance around them.

“Psii. Where’s Psii?” There’s no sign of the yellowblood, even though Signless is sure he had seen him leave to explore the outskirts of the town with the Disciple. “Wasn’t he with you?”

“Psii?” she repeats, confused. “I- I don’t remember.”

“What can you remember?” he urges her. “Do you remember what your assailants looked like? What they were looking for?”

“I- I don’t-” Her eyes go wide, the black of her pupils almost completely obscuring the green of her irises. “Are you okay?” She brings up a hand to hold his face. “Y-you’re not hurt at all, are you? They were - they were asking about you...”

He places a hand where hers rests on his cheek, holding it there. “I am fine, love. It’s been quiet here.” He looks up to scan the area around them, but everything is still, illuminated by the pink-green light of the dual moons high in the sky. “Perhaps we should move somewhere more protected.” He looks back down at the Disciple. “Can you walk?”

She doesn’t answer, instead trying to push herself up on trembling legs, only to fall again immediately. “Oh dear, alright-” He scoops her up, guiding her arms so they’re wrapped around his neck. “Is this comfortable?” She just nods, holding on tightly. He begins walking, rocks crunching under his feet and sending clouds of light purple dust up into the air behind him. He stumbles once but quickly regains his footing, his grip never loosening around the Disciple.

“You’re so good to me...” the Disciple murmurs.

“I only give you what you deserve, dearest. I should find something soon.” He keeps walking until he finds a small alcove in the rock of a small hill. He could probably find something safer, if he continued, but this will have to do. He settles down once he makes sure that he won’t be immediately in sight, the Disciple still in his arms. “How are you feeling?” he asks softly. She keeps her arms wrapped tightly around him.

“Tired,” she says, so faintly he almost couldn’t hear it. His eyebrows furrow together in worry.

“I suppose that’s to be expected... How long ago did this happen? Do you remember?”

“No...” She draws her knees into herself, curling into a ball in his lap. “I- I’m scared.”

“Everything will be alright, I promise.” He tries to sound firm as he says it, but it sounds uncertain even to his ears. “Just stay awake for me, okay?”

“I’ll try.” She buries her head into his chest. Signless strokes the back of her head in what he hopes are soft, soothing gestures.

“You’re so brave, Disciple,” he says quietly. “Braver than any troll I know.”

“I don’t feel brave.” A hot flash of that - unnameable _something_ strikes in his chest at the words; the something that’s not quite flushed, not quite pale, strange enough that even Dolorosa had not known what to call it when he’d described it to her, knowledgeable as she is about these things. He’s quiet as he tries to figure out what to say, for once at a loss. He can feel the Disciple shaking against him.

“Do you remember how we first met?” he asks, unsure of where he’s going with it until he can see the path laid out in front of him, bright and clear. All that’s left is to say the words. She peeks up at him, her interest caught. “You pounced on me straight from the treetops! My bloodpusher almost stopped, you surprised me so.” A smile tugs slightly on her lips. He’s smiling as well, still combing a hand through her hair, and he can feel it as her trembling ever so slowly subsides. “I could tell right from the moment I saw you, how strong you were,” he continues. “You survived all those sweeps on your own, Disciple. Of course you’re brave. Never doubt yourself for a moment.”

She pulls herself up to clumsily kiss his cheek, and he leans down a little to kiss her mouth long and slow, chaste and reassuring. A rusty purr starts in the back of her throat even before she pulls away, reverberating deep through her chest. The shaking is almost gone now. He continues to talk, hoping it will keep her distracted.

“And you remember when we found Psii? He was so skinny I was almost afraid to breathe on him!” She’s smiling softly as she nods. “Of course, ‘Rosa had to take him in when she found out he was running from Domestislavers.” He pauses a moment. “He was so shy at the beginning, remember? Now we can barely get him to be quiet.” He chuckles fondly, but stops when he sees that Disciples eyes are closed. “Disciple? Are you alright?”

She opens her eyes quickly, blinking. “I- I think so? It feels different...”

“Good.” He smiles, relieved. It’s been long enough now that if she had actually been poisoned with something life-threatening, it would have... done it’s job by now. He suppresses a small shudder at the thought. “You could probably sleep now, if you wish.”

“Mhm.” She lays her head down against his chest, closing her eyes, and her breathing slows and evens out quickly. He adjusts her to a more comfortable position, careful not to wake her up. When he breathes out, long and slow, he tries not to think about how close he’d come to losing her. How easily she could have been snatched from him, for her attackers to have hurt her so much worse than they had. She _is_ strong, is the thing, almost unbelievably so; for any troll to have managed to incapacitate her long enough to drug her is extremely worrying. And why did they just let her go after going to all that trouble? What were they asking after him for, and how did they know of him? Where was Psii if he wasn’t there to help her?

The Disciple mumbles something unintelligible in her sleep. Signless can’t help but smile fondly at her, leaning down to press a quick kiss to the gray skin of her cheek. He can save his worry about how ‘Rosa will find them and where Psii is later. But for now, he takes comfort in his love’s warmth and settles in to keep watch.

**Author's Note:**

> yeah, First Ship! :D Taken from a very lovely parp with [timmimae]() on tumblr! I was the Signless, and she was the amazing Disciple. 
> 
> Who were the people who drugged Disci? What were they looking for? Why were they asking after Suff? Where _is_ Psii? Sadly, I do not know. This was really just a short, easy rp and we didn't get much past here because it was late and we were both tired xD 
> 
> Did I do this instead of working on my other fics? NoooooOOOOOooOoOo ( _yeeeeeeessssss i'm sorry D:_ )
> 
> if you'd like, you can talk to me at my [tumblr]() and we can cackle over my url together. do it. it'll be awesome.


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